ECKLOFF, Maurine

Maurine Eckloff, 82 years of age passed away peacefully in her home in Kearney, NE on Sunday, November 28, 2010. Funeral services will be on Thursday, December 2, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Minden with Revs. Nancy Lambert and Larry Moffet officiating. Burial will be in the Minden Cemetery. Visitation will be at the Layton-Craig Funeral Home in Minden on Wednesday from 3-5 and 7-8 p.m. Memorials are suggested to the Kearny County Community Foundation or the University of Nebraska at Kearney Foundation. Condolences can be sent to www.laytoncraigfuneralhome.com Maurine Christine Eckloff was born on the family farm near Upland, Nebraska on April 18, 1928. She was the fourth child of Henry Victor and Christine Raun Nelson. Her grandparents, Peter and Mary Nelson (Nielsen) and Peter and Anna Marie Raun, homesteaded in Kearney County, Nebraska in the late 1800's. She was baptized in the Osco Baptist Church. Maurine attended the Zyba grade school in Southern Kearney County and graduated from Minden High School in 1945. She first attended Hastings College and then transferred and graduated from the University of Denver with a bachelor arts degree in Speech, Theater and Broadcasting in 1948 at the age of 20. She was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. Following graduation she worked at KOLN TV in Lincoln before traveling to California and landing a job at CBS in Los Angeles. At CBS she worked in the script department for The Ozzie and Harriet Show, The Jack Benny Show, The Lucy Show and the Andrews Sisters, among others. Maurine then moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where she worked as the program manager and daily broadcaster for radio station WGET. In Gettysburg, she was the host of The Women's Voice radio program. Following that, she moved back to Denver and was the programming and traffic manager for KBTV, Channel 9 in Denver, now KUSA. Maurine then moved back to Nebraska and taught High School English at Broken Bow Public Schools in the early 1950's. On September 3rd, 1954 she married Warren Nathanael Eckloff at the First Christian Church in Minden, Nebraska. They made their home on the family farm four miles northwest of Minden. They had been married for over 40 years when Warren passed away in 1995. To this union there were four children -- Warren Nathan (Nate), Christine Louise, Ann Marie and Ward Norman. Maurine worked at KHOL-TV Channel 13 south of Kearney in the late 1950's at Channel 13 she hosted a TV version of The Women's Voice, a forerunner of many of today's women's TV talk shows. Maurine also worked for the KGFW radio station in Kearney. Maurine complete her Masters degree at Kearney State College in 1961. In 1975, she earned her Ph.D in Speech and Dramatic Arts from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. In September 1962 she began teaching part-time in the Speech and Theater Department at Kearney State College. Maurine became a full time instructor in 1964. Dr. Eckloff was chair of the Department of Speech from 1978 to 1990. She was also the department director of graduate studies and director of internships. Dr. Eckloff taught at Kearney State College, now UN-K for 44 years, retiring as a full professor in May, 2006. Maurine served as President of the KSC Education Association, chair of the General Studies Committee, president of the UN-K Council of Department Chairs and campus coordinator for the Nebraska LEAD Program. She developed and directed the UNK Institute on Leadership from 1980 through 1990. Dr. Eckloff was a popular instructor and was honored with the John Thurber Distinguished Teacher Award, Outstanding Faculty Member by UN-K Order of the Omega, Award for Outstanding Achievement in Service to the Speech-Theatre Department presented by the UN-K President, Outstanding Teacher Award from the UN-K Student Senate UN-K Foundation Award for Teaching and Outstanding Achievement Award by the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority at the University of Denver. Maurine was active in the community, serving on the Board of Education for Minden Public Schools and was President of the Board in the mid-1970's. In recent years, she served on the Kearney County Foundation Board, the Board of Nebraska Education Television (NETV), the Board of The Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) and was active in the Cather Circle of the University of Nebraska Alumni Association from 2005-2008. She was a member of the United Methodist Church in Minden for many years and in recent years was active with the Church Circle/United Methodist Women. She particularly enjoyed helping in the effort to re-establish the Minden Opera House which opened its doors again on Memorial Day weekend of 2000. Maurine moved from the farm north of Minden to Kearney in 2002. Maurine enjoyed playing Bridge and Scrabble with her friends and also was a member of the Kearney Wine Club. Maurine enjoyed traveling throughout her life and visited Mexico, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Egypt and many other countries. She also enjoyed gardening and roses. She kept an active interest in the family farm North of Minden. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 40 years, Warren, her daughter Christine, her brothers Harlan Nelson and Dennis Nelson and her sister, Merna Rewerts. She is survived by two sons, Nate Eckloff and his wife,Diane of Englewood, CO and Ward Eckloff and his wife, Christyne, her daughter Ann Watts and her husband, Shannon of Holdrege and five grandchildren: Amanda Silver, Trey Eckloff (Warren III), Weston Nelson Eckloff, Jamie Silver and Cole Watts, a great-granddaughter, Leandra Silver; and by her one brother Gilbert Nelson and his wife, Myra of Minden and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.